Phos-tau peptide immunization of amyloid-tg-mice reduced non-mutant phos-tau pathology, improved cognition and reduced amyloid plaques

Abstract

Tau-immumotherapy has shown promising results in tangle/tauopathy-tg animal models. Here we immunized amyloid-mice (APPSwe/PSEN1dE9-tg, presenting amyloid-plaques, not neurofibrillary-tangles) with phos-tau peptides, previously shown by us to have high efficacy in mutant-tau tauopathy-mice. These amyloid-mice allowed us to test the effect of the vaccine in a model of familial AD patients with mutant amyloid plaque pathology, where tau pathology - once develops - is of non-mutant tau. Fourteen-month-old amyloid-mice were immunized with phos-tau peptides or vehicle. Eight weeks later, amelioration of cognitive impairment was noticed. Histological analysis revealed that the phos (non-mutant)-tau pathology (detected by us in these aged amyloid-mice while not in non-tg-mice), was lower in the phos-tau immunized amyloid-mice than in the non-immunized mice. Interestingly, we detected a decrease in amyloid plaque pathology, probably associated with the increased microglial burden, which surrounded both tau and amyloid pathology. These results point to the added value of immunizing AD-mice with the phos-tau-vaccine, targeting both tau and amyloid pathology, which may have clinical relevance. It also points to the multifaceted interplay between tau/amyloid pathologies.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Amyloid; Immunotherapy; Phosphorylated tau; Tau; Tauopathy.